Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez reveals he has been diagnosed with early-stage gum disease

Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez has been diagnosed with early stage gingivitis and is now taking the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue.

“Appearances can deceive,” Rodriguez said in an interview with CBS mornings. “I went to my dentist recently not thinking about gum disease. And the dentist tells me the news, and then I find out that over 65 million Americans have this gum disease.”

Rodriguez said Wednesday that he and Bausch Health Companies Inc. launch an awareness campaign to encourage people to have regular dental and oral health checkups to prevent Gingivitis forms of gum cancer at an early stage.

Unlike other ballplayers, Rodriguez was never known to use smokeless tobacco while playing the game.

Dipping – which usually involves putting small amounts of Skoal or Copenhagen in the lower lip – was very popular among players including San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn, who died due to complications from cancer treatment in 2014.

Tony Gwynn’s life was cut short in 2014 at the age of 54 when he died of complications from cancer

“You saw Tony Gwynn die years ago because of a lot of tobacco use in my opinion,” Rodriguez said. So I’m not sure if it has anything to do with that. I’ve never done tobacco. I’ve done a lot of sunflower seeds, but anyway home viewers, it’s always better to be safe. Go to your local dentist.”

Gwynn was diagnosed in 2010 with cancer of the salivary gland and lymph nodes, resulting in partial facial paralysis. He was later declared cancer-free, only to see the disease come back.

In 2014, Gwynn died at the age of 54 after complications including cardiac arrest.

Previously, Gwynn had attributed his cancer to dip, which he had used since he was a minor league player in 1981.